It is commonly known that a variety of fastening means are employed in the interconnection of the rails forming the bedstead, i.e. the frame of a bed structure and in latching the bedstead to the headboard of the bed, such fastening means being applied at the corner posts to interlock one fastening member mounted onto the side rail and extending forwardly thereof with another fastening member mounted onto an adjacent side rail or onto the headboard. A load-bearing capacity of the fastening members is required in respect of them exhibiting a sufficient strength and rigidity so as to provide adequate support against gravity.
Metallic hook members are commonly employed in such fastening process of a bed frame onto the headboard. It has been observed that usage of the bed eventually leads to deterioration of such fastening means that is being established by the bed becoming generally unsteady due to loose, creaky interconnection of such metallic hook members that in turn results to a noisy bed supporting function as a person lies and moves onto the bed structure.
One reason of such inadequate load bearing capacity is the fact that the load of the bedstead, of the mattress and of the persons lying thereupon is being received by load bearing members exhibiting a rather small loaded surface area that results to excessive forces being applied thereupon. By way of example U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,386 or U.S. Pat. No. 3,305,880 disclose a mechanical fastener for a bed frame comprising a pair of sheet metal hook means being supported by a pair of supporting pins, the latter obviously exhibiting an obviously small surface area that is henceforth being disposed to receiving an undesirably excessive force. Furthermore it is not even certain in the assembly of such a fastening member if both abovementioned supporting pins are substantially equally loaded so as receive and share an equivalent load of the bed being supported. If therefore a slight misalignment occurs in the assembly of a bed structure, this may lead to excessive loading of one component of the bed fastening relative to another that may lead to its inefficient performance and rapid wear. Thus, bed fastenings of the prior art exhibit a drawback of non-equivalent loading of each one of the load sharing components in each one of the fastenings being employed and accordingly of non-equivalent loading of the four fastenings being employed at the four corner posts of the bedstead.
On the other hand, it is also possible that such hook members get in an undesirably tight interlocking connection that dismantling thereof when disassembly of the bed is required becomes difficult. Furthermore, besides from employment of bolts for mounting such hook members on the bed rail and the headboard respectively, further connector accessories are often required for fixedly holding them in engagement condition.
It is further also noted that such bedstead fastening devices of the prior art lack means of providing a signal to the person carrying out assembly of the bed structure in confirmation of attainment of the nominal predetermined engagement condition, such lack of signaling attainment of the nominal predetermined engagement condition leading to possibilities of misaligned, erroneous engagement that will undoubtedly soon lead to a creaky, noisy connection and a deficient performance of the bed fastening. The prior art fastening devices operate in a fashion of attainment of the engagement condition of the mating parts of the fastening in a single step, whilst a secure engagement would require a first step of bringing the mating parts into engagement position, thereafter progressively tightening to ensure a securely fixed connection thereof. Furthermore the prior art does not teach means of automatically and securely locking the fastenings in their engagement condition and therefore appropriately unlocking the same when dismantling of a bed structure is required.